Clement Cor of Redwalls (1533-1608) was a Scottish merchant based in Edinburgh and St Andrews.

Edinburgh career

Cor was the eldest son of Andrew Cor, a merchant in Edinburgh. Cor became a burgess of Edinburgh in 1566 and served the burgh council as a Dean of Guild, and Bailie. He acquired a property in

Advocates Close Advocates Close is a narrow and steep alley in Edinburgh of medieval origin, redeveloped in the early 21st century. With a multiplicity of steps it is not accessible to disabled persons. The close leads from Market Street at the foot of Cockburn ...

in 1579 and his house, built or rebuilt around 1590, is a rare survival of an Edinburgh merchant's house of this date. A painted renaissance ceiling was discovered in the house in 2010 and dated by dendrochronology to Cor's period of ownership. In September 1596, with the physician

Gilbert Moncreiff Gilbert Moncreiff (died 1598) was a Scottish court physician. In November 1575, Moncreiff joined the court of James VI as "medicinar and houshald man". He would live for four years at Stirling Castle in attendance on the young king. A pension aw ...

and kirk minister

Robert Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

he interviewed a woman from Nokwalter in Perth, Christian Stewart, who was accused of causing the death of Patrick Ruthven by witchcraft. She confessed she had obtained a cloth from Isobel Stewart to bewitch Patrick Ruthven, and repeated this confession to the king and Sir George Home at

Linlithgow Palace The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although mai ...

. She was found guilty of witchcraft and burnt on Edinburgh's Castlehill.

Fife and the Lewis venture

Clement Cor moved to

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

before 1603, when he gave the Edinburgh house to his eldest daughter Margaret. This was an unusual move for an established merchant in the 16th-century. He obtained a property called Redwalls in Airdrie,

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, from his son-in-law, Robert Lumsden. Cor invested with Lumsden in an unsuccessful and much-criticised venture to settle a plantation on the Scottish island of

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

. Many of the investors were from Fife and are known as the

Gentleman Adventurers of Fife The Gentleman Adventurers of Fife or Fife Adventurers were a group of 11 noblemen-colonists, largely from eastern Fife, awarded rights from King James VI to colonise the Isle of Lewis in 1598. Background In 1597, the MacLeod clan chiefs were ser ...

. Cor died of the plague at

on 2 March 1608. His tombstone survives in the Cathedral precincts.

Marriage and children

Clement Cor married Helen Bellenden. Their children included: * Margaret Cor, who married Alexander Livingstone * Isobel Cor, who married Robert Lumsden of Airdrie (near

Crail Crail (); gd, Cathair Aile) is a former royal burgh, parish and community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018). Etymology The name ''C ...

) in 1588. * Bessie Cor * Janet Cor (1571-1608), who married Henry McKieson, a burgess of Edinburgh, she died in the same epidemic as her father and is also commemorated on the monument at St Andrews.George MacDonald, 'Post-Reformation tombstones in the cathedral churchyard, St Andrews', 70 (1936), p. 111.

References

External links

Edinburgh, 359 High Street, Advocate's Close, HES Canmore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cor, Clement Businesspeople from Edinburgh 16th-century Scottish people 16th-century Scottish businesspeople 1608 deaths